9-1-1 showrunner breaks down those big season 6 premiere moments — and that final shocker
9-1-1 started out season 6 with a bang — one induced by a blimp, to be exact.
The Fox first-responder drama guest starred Gabrielle Carteris as a blimp co-pilot who luckily survives a crash into a sports stadium, but the latest episode didn't center on the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum. Instead, as promised by showrunner Kristen Reidel, the writers set out to "have more fun with the show" and "focus on our core characters."
That meant exploring Buck's (Oliver Stark) new normal after his breakup with Taylor (Megan West), Hen (Aisha Hinds) struggling to balance medical school and her duties as a mom and paramedic, Lucy's (Arielle Kebbel) injury, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) rekindling their romance, Bobby (Peter Krause) deciding on who to choose as interim captain while he and Athena (Angela Bassett) prepare for their honeymoon — and, of course, that episode-ending car crash involving Athena's parents (Beverly Todd and Henry G. Sanders).
Here, Reidel breaks all that down — and previews what's to come the rest of the season.
FOX Jennifer Love Hewitt on '9-1-1'
Maddie and Chimney's kiss
"We've spent a year basically waiting for these two people to find their way back to each other, so we just wanted to remind them and the audience of everything that they've been through, and how they've always found their way back to each other. They've always found their way through tragedies and obstacles, and all the things that the show throws at them. The thing that Maddie says about, 'isn't it better to see two people overcome terrible things and still find happiness,' that was our feeling as well. Was to just give that big moment of coming back together, not for the first kiss, but for the first kiss back together."
Bobby choses Hen as interim chief
"Chimney would be the senior most person, but, of course, Chimney has already done that and it didn't go very well for him. Hen would be the next logical person, but she's got so much on her plate. After that, the next person would actually be Lucy, because she has the most seniority of the others at the 118. To Buck, Lucy still feels like the new girl on the block, so why would you even consider her? I think for Buck, it's less about who Bobby ends up picking, but it's more about why didn't Bobby consider him. Bobby's explanation, which I think is a valid one is, 'Well, Buck is an excellent firefighter. There's a bit of more responsibility and command that comes with being the captain.' That's the part he thinks that Buck is not ready for. He just needs to live a little bit more and learn a little bit more, and then someday he will be a great captain."
Lucy's injury
"I don't know that we'll be seeing Lucy for a bit. But I think that we might be able to see Lucy in the back half of the season."
Hen's medical school stress
"The reality is there are people who went to medical school while being paramedics. Everybody says the same thing, which is 'you can do it for a while, but when you reach your third year, generally speaking, you have to make a decision. Either you're staying in medical school and quitting the fire department, or you're staying in the fire department and quitting medical school.' That choice is definitely coming up for Hen, and she may not realize it yet, but she will realize it soon, that she cannot do both of these things any longer."
FOX Angela Bassett on the '9-1-1' season 6 premiere.
The aftermath of Athena's parents' car crash
"We have talked many times about going to Florida and seeing Athena's family, and doing another kind of story with them. It just seemed like this great opportunity where once again, Bobby and Athena's honeymoon plans are dashed. She has to go home and deal with her parents who are getting older, and the fear that comes with that: the fear of your parents are getting older and now you have to parent your parents, and what that really means, which is you're just so much closer to losing them."
What else to expect from season 6
"We have a lot of different kinds of episodes coming up. We've got the more traditional, multiple case episodes. We've got a big episode for Athena and Bobby in episode 3. And a big episode for Hen and Karen [Tracie Thoms] in 6. I think that there's a lot of really good stuff coming up. I'm very excited about the first half of our season."
9-1-1 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
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